Bhuvnesh Kumar, an IAS officer from the 1995 Uttar Pradesh cadre assumed charge as the chief executive officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday. Along with the new role, Kumar would continue on as the additional secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Kumar takes over the reins of the Aadhaar ID authority from Amit Agrawal, who was recently appointed as the new secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
"Bhuvnesh Kumar assumed charge as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday," according to the official statement.
Kumar assumed the leadership role in a climate where the Aadhaar system was praised on the international stage. Recently, Nobel laureate Paul Romer praised the Aadhaar in India, calling it one of the most significant technological innovations globally.
As of recent government data, more than 138.04 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated to date.
"In Uttar Pradesh, [Bhuvnesh Kumar] served as the Principal Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries. Previously he was the Secretary Finance, Secretary MSME, Secretary Technical Education and Divisional Commissioner Department of Land Revenue in the Government of Uttar Pradesh. He was also the secretary in charge of Sports and Youth Welfare, Planning, and Vocational Education, among many other important positions in his cadre," read the announcement.
